As Miami Heat president Pat Riley gave his thoughts on the state of the team, one player he specifically talked about was star Bam Adebayo Thursday. With Adebayo looking to continue to impress this season, Riley envisions the highest ceiling for Adebayo to reach other Heat greats such as Dwyane Wade.
There’s no doubt that Wade is considered by many to be the franchise’s greatest player in its history as he has led Miami to three championships and five NBA Finals appearances. Another player considered a Heat great is Udonis Haslem who got his jersey retired last season and is a member of the front office.
With all that to say that Riley wants to see Adebayo to obtain the ultimate goal of a title and cement his legacy with the team according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“I tell him every day, ‘You got to go after this thing. Let’s go get it. Go get it. Nobody is going to give it to you,’” Riley said Thursday. “It was like when I was listening to a little piece the other day with Udonis [Haslem] and Dwyane [Wade]. We’re going to have the statue for Dwyane. Every time people will walk up those stairs and walk past that statue, they’ll know that he is a forever Heat lifer. When both of them were looking up at their numbers when we retired Udonis’ number, they both looked up and said: ‘That was earned.’ Bam is going to have to earn that stuff and you do it on the court.”
Heat’s Pat Riley speaks on the evolution of Bam Adebayo
Wade will be getting a statue outside of the Kaseya Center as there is no doubt Adebayo wants to follow in the footsteps of him and Haslem who has been considered his mentors. However, there is no doubt that the team sees the big-man as a foundation piece since the Heat signed him to a three-year contract extension worth $165 million.
“If I can get 10 percent a year better out of him every year, then we got somebody who’s unique,” Riley said. “Bam’s expansion of his game, ball handling. This is a testimony to Erik [Spoelstra] to bring him from where he was at Kentucky.”
“Ever since we got Bam,” Riley continued. “His role has expanded to where he is a very important cog in our offense. I do believe that he will continue to improve. But if this goes down, that three goes down, it just opens up our game and his game.”
Bam Adebayo has already achieved a lot with the Heat
In talking about the three-time All Star’s expansion of his game like Riley mentioned, it has been well documented that a new aspect of Adebayo’s arsenal is his ability to shoot from three-point range. This was put on display in the back half of last season, the Paris Olympics with Team USA, and now the preseason where the team is scheming around this new area.
Last season, Adebayo averaged 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from beyond the arch. He also has been elite on the defensive end of the floor being arguably the best in the league as he’s made the NBA’s All-Defensive team the past five years and was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year last season.
“He comes every year and he is better,” Riley said. “He’s got more confidence and everything. He’s pre-30 years old, but he’s eight years in already, too. So he’s been through a lot.”
Adebayo is a part of a team that consists mainly of Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro where the three have been together for the past five seasons where they made two NBA Finals appearances, but yet to win a championship, With the Heat preparing for a tough Eastern Conference, they haven’t changed much besides a trade for Terry Rozier last season while the other teams got significantly better.
Heat’s Pat Riley confident in Bam Adebayo-led group in the East
When Riley was asked about how his team stacks up with the rest, he’s confident in Miami led by Adebayo, Butler, and Herro to prove themselves. He would mention the moves made by the New York Knicks like acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, or the Philadelphia 76ers getting Paul George and Caleb Martin, or even the Boston Celtics coming off of a title win.
“Everybody gets better. Everybody makes their move,” Riley said. “We’ve done it three or four times and made big trades or signed big free agents and said, ‘I think it’s time to go for it’ or we plan for that. What Boston has done is incredible. They have a team that has broken all records, not only in how they play the game but also financially. They’re shooting for the moon here. And what New York did, [Knicks president] Leon [Rose] is going for it. He’s going for it, making these moves and these trades. So they have a great team. Philly, you never know with Philadelphia. They’re a little bit like us, they need to be healthy all year long.
“But I believe in this team, I truly believe in these guys,” Riley continued. “Bam, Jimmy and Tyler, to some extent maybe Terry [Rozier] have to be better. It’s always about can you produce more, can you be more, can you be together more. I’ve seen the improvement. … So I think we have a core of really, really great players who need to find another level of greatness. This is their time. So take the challenge.”
Heat’s regular season opener with first glimpse of the team in new season
At any rate, the Heat are trying to evade the chance to be the eighth seed for the third straight season where last go around, they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the aforementioned champions in the Celtics. They have one more preseason game Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road before Wednesday’s regular season opener where Miami takes on the Orlando Magic.
